"Back to the origin" - a bridge between the present and the past

On May 25, at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House organized a program to exchange and talk with writer - director Doi Xuan Viet on the occasion of the launch of the memoir Ve noi nguon nguon . Through the work, readers have the opportunity to go back in time to learn about a turbulent period of the country.

Writer Doi Xuan Viet was born in 1945, joined the army and participated in the campaign in Quang Tri in 1972. In 1981, he transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the Vietnam Feature Film Studio, working there until 2005. He is a member of the Vietnam Cinema Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association.

In addition to his main job as a film director, he also has a passion for literature and is the author of several books: Passing the Sun (2019), I Only Have You (2020), Late Blooming Rhododendron (2020), Legend of the Wonderful Girl (2022) and most recently, Returning to the Origin (2024).

Writer - director Doi Xuan Viet (2nd from right) shares at the program

The book is 208 pages thick with typical contents: My mother married into the Dai family in Quang Xuong district; Childhood; My grandfather's village; Returning to Hue; Going to Hanoi; Returning to live at Chu Van An school; My father; Passion and recklessness; My mother struggled all her life... Returning to the origin is considered a memoir about a family that has gone through more than a century from when the country was still immersed in the long night of slavery until the country was completely independent.

The book tells about the origins of the paternal and maternal families of writer Doi Xuan Viet, about the ancestors as well as the shining examples that are worthy of praise and emulation that they left for their descendants. Exploiting the beauty of the origin is consistent throughout the entire work. Through his family, the author also shows the historical and cultural flow of the Vietnamese people from the past to the present.

Through the memoir "Back to the origin", readers can understand more about a turbulent period of the country.

At the exchange program, writer Doi Xuan Viet said that through the fate of the ancestors, closely linked to the country's upheavals, he hopes to reflect an important historical period of the country. From there, help today's youth understand the merits of our ancestors in creating the world, building and leaving us the beautiful country we have today.

As one of the first people to come into contact with Ve noi nguon nguon while it was still in manuscript, writer Kao Son shared: “With simple narrative language and the light of a film director, Doi Xuan Viet has given readers a profound literary look and a close-up in a slow-motion film that clarifies every smallest detail about his family lineage.”

Writer Kao Son (standing) commented that the memoir "Returning to the Origin" is both rich in literary and cinematic qualities.

Poet Truong Nam Huong commented: “The work, with its rich and abundant details and events spread out before the reader’s eyes, makes the book, although in the form of a memoir, very interesting to read, not dry or monotonous. 70 years have passed, but many events and incidents are still clear and present on every page of the book. Hopefully, the book will bring readers pride in their family lineage, in their ancestors, with love and respect for their ancestors.”

QUYNH YEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ve-noi-nguon-coi-cau-noi-hien-tai-va-qua-khu-post741525.html